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Treaty of Vianden
The Treaty of Vianden was a treaty between the Principality of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the Kingdom of Belgium, which united all territories under the corresponding countries into one nation, the Union of Benelux. The event took place at Vianden Castle, in Luxembourg. Background The Benelux was an economic union in Western Europe comprising of three neighboring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries (now referred to as Non-Provincial Principalities) were located in northwestern Europe between the French and German regions of the Franco-German Commonwealth. The Union's name was formed from the beginning of each country's name; it was possibly created for the Benelux Customs Union, although according to The Economist it was coined somewhat earlier, in August 1946, by that newspaper's correspondent in Belgium. It is now also used in a more generic way to refer to the cultural, economic, and geographic grouping. In 1951, these countries joined West Germany, France, and Italy to form the European Coal and Steel Community, the earliest version of the modern European Union. The main institutions of the Union were the Committee of Ministers, the Parliament, the Council of the Union, the Court of Justice, the Secretariat-General, the Organization for Intellectual Property. Many of these institutions still remain. The Benelux Secretary-General was located in Brussels, the Union's capital. It was the central administrative pillar of the Benelux Economic Union. It handled the secretariat of the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Economic Union and the various committees and working parties. Moreover, it ensured the registry of the Benelux Court of Justice. In April 2011, at a PAFF emergency summit, the representative of the Netherlands was chosen to announce that Luxembourg and the Netherlands are merging, and that Belgium would be joining them after a treaty signing. On 19 April 2011, two days after the announcement, the treaty made it official. Treaty Provisions *The three entities will merge to form a new constitutional monarchy: **Kingdom of the Netherlands **Principality of Luxembourg **Kingdom of Belgium *All territory and assets of the three entities will become property of the Union. *A new monarch will be elected, and not from the current ruling families. **The new monarch's family will form a new Royal House, and will continue to rule the Union. *The leader of the Benelux Economic Union will become the head of government. **A deputy head of state will be appointed by a trusted independent organization. *The current royal families' heirs will form the Royal Council of Benelux, which advises the elected monarch. *All military forces will be combined and restructured into a self-defense force. *All monetary funds of the entities will become part of the new Union. **The Euro will still be the national currency. *The official language of the Union will be English, to avoid confusion. **It will also be the only language used by government. Signatories *Albert II of Belgium **Yves Leterme *Beatrix of the Netherlands **Mark Rutte *Henri of Luxembourg **Jean-Claude Juncker *Jan van Laarhoven *Herman van Rompuy *José Manuel Barroso See Also *Union of Benelux *Monarchy of Benelux Category:Benelux